Tuesday, February 21, 2017

When it comes to choosing a food for your dog, there are a lot of options to choose from. Personally, I look at two important things: the ingredients and the brand. Let's take a look at a particularly spectacular brand who has similar values to many pet parents out there: Only Natural Pet®!

If you follow our social media channels, you will be familiar with Only Natural Pet. Last year we reviewed their natural flea and tick products and were pleasantly surprised with the results. What attracts me to this brand is their mission of keeping things as natural as possible to improve the health of our pets. Don't we all want to limit the unnatural things our pets are exposed to? Of course! One of the first steps is to get good food into our pet's tummies. Now, we first learned about Only Natural Pet at BlogPaws 2015 and won a gift card during the Pawject Runway event where the girls first got a taste of their dog food. They were founded in 2004 and sell mostly their own branded products in their online and physical store in Colorado. They have also recently started selling in PetSmart! We were asked to try some of their dog food and of course we said yes! Jada is on a food trial right now, so Bailey stepped up to the plate..get it? ;)

Our first dog food is formulated specifically with small breeds in mind. Only Natural Pet Small Breed Feast is part of their Canine PowerFood™ line which is grain-free, has high protein (minimum 33%) and paleo inspired. If you aren't up to date on food fads, the paleo diet is where you eat how humans would eat before they started farms and having processed food. So it is a more natural way of eating while cutting out a lot of unhealthy things. For this paleo inspired dog food it is very similar. Just take a look at the ingredients:

I can tell a lot about a dog food by the first few lines of ingredients. If I know what they are and it isn't stuff like corn, grains, and by-products (to name a few), then I'm a happy dog parent. Everything is from the U.S. except for the vitamins and minerals which come from Europe. Nothing from China, no artificial preservatives (did you know rosemary extract is a natural preservative?), just good stuff like deboned turkey, field peas, garbanzo beans, fruits and veggies, and even green lipped mussels. I always wonder about the vague ingredient "Natural Flavor" which is in a lot of premium foods. That's my only qualm.

So why feed a small breed specific food? Well every dog is different, but in general small dogs have a higher metabolism, need fewer calories, and of course, prefer smaller kibble.

Bailey right off the bat really liked this food and she is really picky when it comes to kibble. (I literally just had to give away two big bags of some high-quality stuff!) So that was nice to see that she actually cleaned her bowl. The kibble size is very small which is what you expect in a small breed formula and Bailey handled it very well. With large pieces it can take her forever to crunch up. Let's take a look at a different type of dog food next!

So Wholesome Homemade is a dehydrated dog food which means you just add water, wait, and serve. Dehydrated is definitely trending as it is easier to store & travel with, it's fresh, and dogs generally seem to prefer it over kibble. So what makes Only Natural Pet's version unique? Besides the amazing ingredients, you can see there are morsels of meat, whole peas, and you can actually see the fruits and veggies. A big part of what makes this meal special is the price tag. A 6 lb box of their most expensive variety (Fish & Fowl) is $22.39 and it makes up to 18 lbs of food when rehydrated. That comes up to $1.24 a pound which is really great for a high-quality food!

So all you have to do to prepare is pour the amount for your size dog and add equal parts warm water, stir, and wait for 10 minutes. That's the hardest part right there. ONP suggests making the food ahead of time and that may be what I need to do since the smell was so enticing both Jada and Bailey were going crazy waiting! After 10 minutes were up, I looked in the bowl and could see the beautiful colors of the green beans, peas, cranberries, spinach, and all the other rehydrated ingredients which gave off a nice stew-like aroma.

So what was the verdict? Bailey LOVES this food. If the Small Breed Feast was two paws up, then the Wholesome Homemade was four paws up! She cleaned her bowl over and over to make sure she got every lick of the stew.

Now, Bailey is a particular fart (I say that in the most loving way possible). The day after introducing her to these two foods I filled up her breakfast bowl with the Small Breed Feast and soaked it in some warm water. I put the bowl in front of her and she sniffed and sniffed, sat down, then looked up at me. Oh ho ho, Miss Bailey. As her mom, I knew what she was up to. She tasted heaven and wanted more! Being the sneaky sneaker I am, I got a little bit of the Wholesome Homemade, sprinkled it on top, and added more water. As I put it down in front of her she took right to it and ate all her breakfast. I've been continuing to do this and that just goes to show that this food is also a great topper for super picky eaters!

In a Nutshell...

Only Natural Pet is a pet product company who started in 2005 with the mission of helping you pursue a natural lifestyle for your dogs and cats

They do this by selling high-quality natural pet products like food, treats, and supplements

They have many varieties of dog food including their own brand

Small Breed Feast is paleo inspired with great ingredients and is formulated for breeds under 50 lbs

Wholesome Homemade is a dehydrated stew-like dog food that is great for picky eaters and for people looking for an easy way to give a more homemade food. Comes in 3 flavors and sizes.

You can find both recipes and many other products over on their website.

Only Natural Pet has really opened my eyes to providing high-quality dog food at an affordable price. Now, if we can get the news out to all those owners who are feeding their dogs junk food-like brands maybe we can help dogs live longer and more healthy lives. Who's with me? :)

Nala and Cody love Only Natural Pet! They have tried the Powerfood, EasyRaw, and the PowerStew and some of the treats. They loved all the products they have tried so far and I recently bought some of the Wholesome Homemade for them to try and I am sure they will love that too.

i get their emails now. i like that they have a section where you can search for problems, information regarding your pet. they also have a ask the vet section. their products are all natural and made from reliable resources. i like that they have no grain, meat is the first product, has veggies and fruit, no chemicals or fillers.

I love that their products are natural and the prices are reasonable compared to so many other brands. (I have three rescued Treeing Walker Coonhounds, and they eat a LOT, so price is as important to me as quality.)

Before this review, I never heard of Only Natural Pet. However, this is exactly the kind of dog food I have been trying to find for my ageing shih tzu. I love the all natural ingredients. Usually the dog foods that I do find like Only Natural Pet, is priced to high for my budget. I will be going to my locale Petsmart to find Only Natural Pet Small Breed Feast Canine PowerFood.

Thank you so much for informing us of the food varieties and natural ingredients with affordable price. With the high protein diet for dogs, security is also important for them. For the pet safety I would suggest to make a pet drivers license, it’s also necessary for your pet safety.

It is perfect time to make some plans for the future and it is time to be happy. I’ve read this post and if I could I desire to suggest you few interesting things or tips. Perhaps you could write next articles referring to this article. I want to read more things about it! Diamond dog food reviews